Elizabeth Ayer is a Consulting Product Manager for 18F, a digital consultancy within the US Federal government . She’s had a long run in software, as a software developer in the late ’90s, then in product management for engineering orchestration tools, from CAD designs to databases, with Siemens PLM and Redgate. Since relocating to the US and joining 18F, she’s been working with federal and state agencies to deliver high-quality, equitable social safety net services, with special focus on nutrition assistance. Her mission is to make our socio-technical systems more intentional, sustainable, and humane.
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Changing minds - you can, but should you?
Making change is essential to our jobs, but change management is often discussed in a way that objectifies the people who are being changed.
This talk will give a brief introduction to change management and ethical context before showing examples where unethical influence crops up in software development.
By the end, you’ll be better able to spot ethical hazards and have tools to address them, leading to a more respectful practice of changing hearts and minds.
Key takeaways…
- Knowledge of change models and influence philosophies
- Awareness of the ethical hazards of influence and where they typically crop up in software
- Tools and methods for pausing to ask "but should we"?
- Sustainability benefits of taking the ethical path